Health

Thane/Pune, Aug 29 (PTI) Several BJP activists on Saturday staged protests outside temples in Maharashtra's Thane and Palghar districts and Pune city demanding the reopening of places of worship, which have remained shut amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

BJP MLAs, legislators, corporators and office-bearers led the protests in all cities of Thane and Palghar districts, with activists resorting to 'ghanta naad' (ringing of bells) and banging of plates outside temples.

Lucknow, Aug 29 (PTI) At a village in Barabanki district, 37-year-old Vivek allegedly poisoned his wife and three children and then took his own life. And some 250 km away in Banda, migrant labourers Chutku and Rambabu killed themselves in their native villages.

The three cases tell the stories of people unable to cope with the stress, often related to unemployment, during these tough times brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Chandigarh, Aug 29 (PTI) Haryana Power Minister Ranjeet Singh said on Saturday that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Singh, who is an Independent MLA supporting the BJP-JJP government, had got his test done just before the one-day Assembly session on Wednesday and his report returned negative. However, he developed symptoms after the session and got himself tested again.

"I got my COVID test done again and the report came positive," the cabinet minister tweeted. "My health is alright, but I under home quarantined on the advice of doctors."

New Delhi, Aug 29 (PTI) India's COVID-19 tally raced past 34 lakh with a single-day spike of 76,472 cases, while the number of recoveries surged to 26,48,998, pushing the recovery rate to 76.47 per cent on Saturday, according to the Union health ministry.

28 Aug 2020; MEMO: A joint Pakistan-Saudi Arabian telehealth online platform is set to launch in Yemen to provide urgent maternity and childcare services amid the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis, Arab News has reported. Educast was first launched in Pakistan and has successfully trained hundreds of Pakistani doctors in the field of telemedicine since last year.

28 Aug 2020; MEMO: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned on Wednesday that the health care system in the besieged Gaza Strip will not be able to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) The Supreme Court Thursday declined permission for carrying out Muharram procession across the country and asked Lucknow-based petitioner to move before the Allahabad High Court with his plea.

The apex court said how can it pass a general order for the whole country.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said it would lead to chaos and targeting of a particular community.

New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) COVID-19 can affect almost all organs besides the lungs and the initial symptoms may be totally unrelated to chest complaints, according to experts at AIIMS here.

They stressed that classification of cases into mild, moderate and severe categories based just on respiratory symptoms should be relooked to include other organ involvement.

Lucknow, Aug 27 (PTI) Senior Uttar Pradesh minister Siddharth Nath Singh said on Thursday that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

The 56-year-old cabinet minister has quarantined himself at his home on medical advice.

"After preliminary symptoms of coronavirus, I got myself tested and the report was positive. I am alright but on doctor's advice I have isolated myself in home quarantine," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

"I request those who came in contact with me over the last few days to get themselves tested," the minister said.

New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) Registering over 75,000 COVID-19 cases for the first time in a span of 24 hours, India's virus tally sprinted past 33 lakh on Thursday, while the number of recoveries crossed the 25 lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

A record 75,760 infections were added in a day, taking the total coronavirus caseload to 33,10,234. The death toll climbed to?60,472 with 1,023 fatalities being reported in 24 hours,?the data updated at 8 am showed.